About CELSTEC

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The Centre for Learning Sciences and Technologies (CELSTEC) is a Centre of Excellence in the fields of Learning Sciences and Technology Enhanced Learning.

CELSTEC aims to improve learning and  knowledge handling at work, at school, at home and on the move, by combining state-of-the-art knowledge in the Learning Sciences with the innovative powers of new Information and Communication Technologies.

New technologies and approaches to learning are extensively tested in our laboratories and in real practice.

The core activities of CELSTEC are: research, innovation and education & training.

 

Rob Koper, Dean of CELSTEC

Download the latests annual report (2010).

CELSTEC was formerly known as OTEC (Onderwijstechnologisch Expertise Centrum). The institute gained worldwide recognition as a successful centre for research and innovation in the field. In 2008 CELSTEC’s research programmes received the highest average score from all educational research programmes in the Netherlands. The  history of the institute goes back to the early 1980's.

Open Content, Open Source

CELSTEC follows a strategy to provide our work to the public with open source or creative commons licenses. The outcomes of our work are freely accessible at our dspace server.

CELSTEC's Activities

CELSTEC's activities are concentrated in three themes, each of them organised in a Programme. Furthermore, education & training activities are organised within the Institute for Education and Training. Each of the three programmes contains a combination of research & development projects, innovation projects and education & training activities. The tight integration of research, practice, experimentation and training in collaboration with partners establishes a process of open innovation in the field of learning and professional development.

These are the aims of the three Programmes and the institute for Education & Training:

Learning and Cognition

This programme aims to improve education & training at schools and in companies. It contains three themes in which its projects are executed:

  • Creating flexible environments for acquiring complex cognitive skills;
  • Solving complex information problems;
  • Development of domain-specific expertise.

Learning Networks for Professionals

This programme researches methods, guidelines and technologies that are in the service of the continuous development of professionals, in formal training settings or in non-formal in-company settings. It research is organised in three themes

  • professional development
  • networked learning
  • social media.

Learning Media

This programme aims to improve the learning experiences at home, at work and on the move, using new learning media and devices. It contains three themes in which its projects are executed:

  • immersive media;
  • mobile media;
  • social media.  

Institute for Education & Training

The knowledge gained in all our activities is the basis for our education and training activities, for example in the Scientific Master Programme in the Learning Sciences and the organisation of numerous events and training for professionals in the fields of learning sciences and technology enhanced learning. CELSTEC's institute for Education & Training co-ordinates these activities.

Organisation of CELSTEC

CELSTEC is a research institute of the Open Universiteit Nederland. CELSTEC employs over a 100 FTE professionals (mainly professors, employed Ph.D. students and Media Specialists) from over 15 different countries. It collaborates actively with hundreds of different professionals in various countries, companies, agencies, schools and universities. Together the staff and network represents many years of experience in research and innovation.

The management of CELSTEC is formed by:

  • prof. dr. Rob Koper (Dean)
  • prof. dr. Paul Kirschner (Programme Director of the Learning and Cognition programme)
  • prof. dr. Peter Sloep (Programme Director of the Learning Networks programme)
  • prof. dr. Wim Westera (Programme Director of the Learning Media programme)
  • prof. dr. Els Boshuizen (Director of the Education & Training Institute)
  • dr. Jo Boon (Human Resource Manager)
  • mr. Jos van den Broek (Director of Operations)